My son just got his permit and is now taing his behind the wheel testing.

He does ot have a job, he does not have "good" grades (Fs in two classes all because he does not do the work)

He actually told me it is OUR responsilbity to pay HIS insurance.

I told him if HE is driving OUR car he will ahve a job and he WILL help pay for gas and insurance.

SO unless he gets his grades up shouldIN let him drive our car? Or wait till he gets a job?

He needs to practice with us though in order to get his license in 6 mths. 

IMO he wouldn't even beable to get a permit.or license without his grade coming up first. Growing up school came first and if we had any bad grades we didn't get the extra fun stuff and a permit or license is considered a previlage.

Id make him gt his grades up before I let him drive,get his license, or a job. And.id take his permit till he gts them up too. 

I second that. Plus if my kids couldn't put gas in the car and help pay for the insurance they have no business driving. 

I agree with everything blah said. A kid who isn't responsible enough to get even decent grades, probably isn't responsible enough to be behind the wheel of a car. 

I am "kinda" in your shoes.

My oldest is 16 turning 17 and I have another son right behind him. I told my children they cannot get their drivers license without a 3.0 or above. Plain and simple. I think with kids if you give them black or white they get it.

Also, I told them that basicaly if they are not responsibile in school, how can I trust they will be responsible with a vehicle that can seriously injure or kill them? I cant. Responsibility is doing your homework or studying for exams and trust is earned not given. They need to have the grades or not drive. End of story.

Both my kids just got over a 3.0 and are very excited. They are very proud of themselves (as I am too). I think it will be more rewarding for them to drive now and they will take it a tad bit more seriously because they did have to "work" for it.

I just signed them up for Drivers Ed. They start next month. They also know that if they do not maintain these grades at any point the drivrs license can be taken away and driving priviledges revoked. 

Bballmom

My point. Your children get a 3.0 because they know if they don't no driving.

And it makes them proud of themselfs knowing they earned the previlage.

They worked for.what they wanted.

High-five!! 

Unless there is a valid reason for him to not be able to get good grades (and I add that caveat because one of my children has a learning disability and I try to remain cognizant of the fact that it is not equal for all) then getting decent grades should be a requirement. When I was in HS I got good grades, was an all-state athlete, had a job, and paid for my own gas and clothes. My parents paid for my insurance until I left college. 

I wasn't allowed to get my permit unless I had a 3.0 or higher because insurance is cheaper for teen drivers if they have good grades.

He doesn't have to get his license right away in 6mos...I'd make him wait until he got his grades up 

thanks for all the great advice friends! :) 

I wasent allowed to drive if my grades or attitude was bad, but i think that he should finish school before he gets a job, let him concentrate on his grades instead of a job. 

In California he shouldn't need to be insured as a driver when he only has his permit, by law.

A lot of insurance companies also give them a good student discount if they have above a certain grade point average.

Also, I would make him have to have good enough grades to qualify for the good student discount before he is allowed to get his license.

Out of curiosity, why does he have his permit in the first place if he has not one, but 2 Fs? He doesn't seem very responsible if not doing the work is the reason for those grades.

Also, his permit is valid for a year, he doesn't need to get his license in 6 months.

As far as the job/gas/insurance thing, you may find that once he actually does his work there isn't enough time in the day for him to have a job. My parents paid for my insurance, but I had a seasonal job during fall and whatever money I had from that went to gas for the car I drove as well as anything that needed to be fixed. I was required to keep the car in working order and clean otherwise I was required to pay insurance that month.

I can understand if you are excited for him to drive because you won't have to go take him to school and drive him around, but remember a vehicle can be a weapon and you should feel comfortable with his driving before he is allowed to get his license. Also, make him drive you around to do errands and make him drive when the family goes out to dinner, take him to an empty parking lot and drive around. My parents did that kind of stuff and I have never had a ticket or been pulled over, or an accident. 

My oldest is 16 turning 17 and I have another son right behind him. I told my children they cannot get their drivers license without a 3.0 or above. Plain and simple. I think with kids if you give them black or white they get it.

Also, I told them that basicaly if they are not responsibile in school, how can I trust they will be responsible with a vehicle that can seriously injure or kill them? I cant. Responsibility is doing your homework or studying for exams and trust is earned not given. They need to have the grades or not drive. End of story.

Both my kids just got over a 3.0 and are very excited. They are very proud of themselves (as I am too). I think it will be more rewarding for them to drive now and they will take it a tad bit more seriously because they did have to "work" for it.


Love this. 

I'd be ripping his permit up if my son told me what MY responsibilities are. 

I'd be ripping his permit up if my son told me what MY responsibilities are. 

x100 

I agree with those of your that say get a 3.0 and get a job.

Growing up, getting your permit and license was a privledge not a right. The fact you're son talks to you like that shows he has little respect.

If my kid ever talked to me that way, one he is grounded, two he won't even think about getting a permit until he has a 3.0 and a job to pay for insurance. 

My son is now 19 but when he was 15 and getting his permit the school didn't let you get your permit until you had good grades. Luckily he had good grades. He also had a job but didn't work very many hours. We paid his insurance if he kept his grades up otherwise it was his responsability. Luckily we didn't have to cross that bridge cuz he would have had the car taken away too. Bad grades= no driving. I would have driven him to and from work....how embarrassing would that have been for him to have his mommy taking and picking him up when his friends knew he could drive and yes he would have paid me gas money to do so too. Parents run the house not the kids. If they get lippy then they need punished to figure out who is really in charge. Good luck 

My kids didnt drive unless they had passing grades.

Also, It was "MY" car they were using, along with the last quarter tank of gas...

The vehicles were on our insurance policy, and it was expensive!!!! 

Insurance is expensive for teenagers especially boy teenagers so I wouldn't expect him to pay for the insurance but he should have to pay for his own gas and get his grades up. I would let him get his license but wouldn't let him touch the car unless he got his grades up to my standards and he would have to fill up the tank whenever he returned the car. If there was any damage, he would have to pay for it himself. 

I didnt have to pay for insurance or gas. My parents told me as long as i am responsible i can have my car. They were not strict lol. I had good grades and played alot of sports. So i didnt have time to work. My husband had to work for everything while his step siblings had everything given to them. Although he didnt get to play much sports or be a kid. So we decided when the time comes our son will have to maintain good grades and work around the house. Or get a job. I do beleive in giving kids responsability. I just dont want my son to work his teenage years away. Only because i didnt like how my husband was raised.